Hair dryer nozzle

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to a blower nozzle adapted to fit onto a hand dryer for drying human hair wherein the blower nozzle has a plurality of apertures along a side thereof for allowing gas to escape and has a restricted mouth. In this invention adjustable closure means are provided internally of said nozzle, which, when turned in one direction, allows free flow of heated air through the nozzle and when turned in another direction diverts a portion of the air away from the nozzle mouth and to and through apertures in the side of the nozzle. In a preferred embodiment of my invention the apertures are distorted so that air passing through the apertures is given a direction generally parallel to the axis of the nozzle instead of a direction generally normal to the axis of the nozzle.

United States Patent n 1 Cercone Mar. 19, 1974 HAIR DRYER NOZZLE Daniel Cercone, 212 Cedarville 'St., Pittsburgh, Pa. 15224 221 Filed: Nov. 15, 1971 21 Appl.No.: 198,666

Related U.S. Application Data [63] Continuation of Ser. No. 25,378, April 3. 1970,

abandoned.

[76] Inventor:

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2.827.060 3/1958 Marty 239/562 X Primary E,raminer l ,loyd l King Attorney, Agent, or FifiriBrow'n, Murray, Flick &

Peckha'm [57] ABSTRACT This invention relates to a blower nozzle adapted to fit onto a hand dryer for drying human hair wherein the blower nozzle has a plurality of apertures along a side thereof for allowing gas to escape and has a restricted mouth. In this invention adjustable closure means are provided internally of said nozzle, which, when turned in one direction, allows free flow of heated air through the nozzle and when turned in another direction diverts a portion of the air away from the nozzle mouth and to and through apertures in the side of the nozzle. In a preferred embodiment of my invention the apertures are distorted so that air passing through the apertures is given a direction generally parallel to the axis of the nozzle instead of a direction generally normal to the axis of the nozzle.

6 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures HAIR DRYER NOZZLE This is a continuation, Ser. No. 25,378, filed Apr. 3, 1970 now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION FIELD OF INVENTION In the art of styling hair, a blower is employed which produces a heated stream of air which is directed through a nozzle which controls the direction and velocity of the stream of air. In operation, it is usually desired that the mouth of the blower be held close to the head approximately I a inches away from the hair. Initially when the hair is quite wet it is desirable to have a relatively intense heat applied to the hair to dry it as quickly as possible. Later when the hair has become partially dry it is desirable to cut down on the b.t.u. supply per minute to a given area. Attempts have been made in the past to produce a variable heat by employing a switch which reduces the power supply to the blower and reduces the temperature of the gasses coming from the blower. This has the disadvantage that, by cutting down on the volume of heat being applied, the time required for drying of the total hair is lengthened and this causes inconvenience both to the patron and the hair stylist. Secondly, attempts have been made to reduce the effective temperature by holding the blower further away as, for example, holding it a foot from the head so as to reduce the effectiveness of burning ability of the air stream. 1 have found this to be quite impractical and a very cumbersome and inaccurate procedure SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly I have provided a blower nozzle, adapted to fit the standard blower commonly in use, having a plurality of apertures along a side. Mounted in the nozzle, in the interior thereof, 1 provide adjustable closure means which are operable for diverting a portion of the air away from the mouth of the nozzle and to and through the apertures on the side of the nozzle, or, alternatively, to allow all of the air to pass through the nozzle. In the preferred embodiment of my invention the apertures in the sides of the nozzle have the walls surrounding them slightly distorted so that the air ejected from the apertures moves in a direction generally about to 45 to the parallel to the main axis of the nozzle. Thus when the hair becomes semi-dried and the stream of heat becomes uncomfortable to the scalp, the operator switches the nozzle from the concentrated position to the dispersed position, so that now a large portion of the air passes through the apertures along the side of the nozzle, thereby reducing the volume and velocity of air moving through the mouth of the nozzle. Since the apertures direct the air in a direction at a small angle to the axis of the nozzle, there is now produced effectively the same volume or quantity of heat per unit time distributed over a larger area and therefore substantially less concentrated.

While the foregoing description summarizes the general aspects of the invention, nevertheless, specifically, the invention is defined in the appended claims which will be understood when read in connection with the following description and the appended drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a showing of an elevation of a blower having a hot air blower nozzle in accordance with the preferred embodiment of my invention thereon.

FIG. 2 is an artistic showing of a hair stylist working with a blower and nozzle in accordance with the preferred embodiment of my invention.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged elevational showing of a blower nozzle in accordance with the preferred embodiment of my invention partially cut away.

FIG. 4 is an elevational showing partially in crosssection of the nozzle shown in FIG. 3, looking from the right, showing the air deflectors and operating handles in connection therewith.

FIG. 5 is a side elevational showing of a nozzle having apertures on either side and double closure means.

As shown in FIG. ll, I provide a blower for supplying warm air for use in the art of hair styling. Such a blower comprises a motor and heater unit 6, a gas tube or channel 8, an opening 10 for gas to enter, a handle 12 with which to hold the blower, a switch 14 for turning the electric power to the blower off and on, and a conduit 16 for supplying electrical power to the blower heating unit and the blower motor.

In the present invention I provide a blower nozzle for attachment to the end of the blower conduit of the standard blower presently commonly in use in the trade of hair styling.

The blower nozzle in accordance with my invention is shaped to provide a restricted opening or mouth 22 at the end thereof, so as to produce a concentrated stream of hot gas for fast drying and hair heating in a relatively concentrated area. The blower nozzle is provided with a plurality of apertures 21 on at least one side thereof, these apertures 21 having the walls immediately adjacent thereto distorted so that the crosssection across the aperture tends to be toward the parallel to the cross-section of the nozzle body. Preferably the direction of the air stream from the aperture should be at least 20 and not more than 45 from the axis of the nozzle. Thus, air leaving the apertures 21 tends to move not at right angles to the axis of the nozzle, but instead leaves the apertures in a direction less than 45 from the axis of the nozzle.

The closure means in accordance with my invention comprises a pivot rod 20 which extends through the nozzle near the mouth 22 of the nozzle at right angles to the axis of the nozzle and having a handle 24 attached thereto generally parallel to the axis of the nozzle for alternate rotation of the pivot rod 20. Attached to the pivot rod 20 I provide a closure or air diverting plate 26, which, when the rod is in the closed position, the closure plate 26 is against and covering the apertures 21 in the side of the nozzle. When the closure or air diverting plate 26 is moved to the open position as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 4, approximately onethird of the total gas passing through the nozzle passes out of the apertures on that side of the nozzle. When dual closure plates are employed as shown in FIG. 5, then, when both plates are open, two-thirds of the air or gasses pass through the appertures and approximately one-third passes through the nozzle.

A plurality of stops are provided in the preferred embodiment, however it is understood that one stop, namely to stop in the open condition, would be adequate for most purposes because the wall of the nozzle, acting against the air diverting plate, acts as a stop. The stop in the closed position is provided only to eliminate the strain between the rod and the plate attached thereto since the plate itself against the wall of the nozzle constitutes a stop which prevents the mechanism from going any further in the closed position. However, if there is no stop on the outside wall of the nozzle stopping the handle from going further, there may be a tendency to hit the handle accidentally and cause it to become loosened from the plate or bent in relation to the plate. Accordingly, in the preferred embodiment at least two stops are employed, and preferably additional intermediate stops 25 are provided. The intermediate stops 25 have the advantage of giving the operator a finer control capability over the air stream.

As shown in FIG. 5 two closure plates are employed and two pairs of stops. One pair of stops with a cooperating handle is provided on one side of the nozzle and another pair of stops with the other cooperating handle are provided on the other side of the nozzle.

OPERATION OF MY INVENTION In the operation of my nozzle, when the operator first starts to use the blower with the nozzle thereon on the head of a patron. the operator moves the closure devices to the normal or aperture closing position. Thus all the air passes through the nozzle mouth. The operator now begins to work on the hair, gradually drying it in the configuration which he desires. Eventually he reaches the point where the hair is becoming less moisture laden or relatively dry, and he now desires to continue the drying process of the ahir as a total, but he no longer wants to apply a concentrated heat at one small area where he is working. He now flips the closure handle 24 so that the apertures 21 are now open and receive air therethrough. Now the air passing through the mouth is substantially reduced so that there is no more discomfort to the patron from the stream of hot air while at the same time the total amount of hot air applied has remained constant and the drying of the head as a whole continues at a relatively constant rate. The operator or hair stylist now continues to function the same as he has been functioning before, continuing to work with the hair and continuing to hold the blower mouth at substantially the same distance from the region where he is working. However, now that he has flipped the switch or upper closure handle, he is now able to work in this manner without danger of overheating either the scalp or the hair of the subject.

While the present invention has been described in detail in its present preferred form or embodiment, it will be apparent to persons skilled in the art after understanding the improvements contemplated herein, that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit or scope thereof. It is intended in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications.

I claim as my invention:

1. A blower nozzle adapted to fit on a hand dryer for hair, comprising a cylindrical portion connected to the outlet of said hand dryer, a nozzle portion connected to said cylindrical portion and having converging opposite side walls terminating in a restricted opening, a plurality of apertures in at least one of said converging side walls for permitting air from said dryer to pass out of said apertures at an angle to the axis of said nozzle, and adjustable vane-type closure means movable from a position where it covers said apertures to a position where it projects into the stream of air passing through the nozzle to direct said air stream through said apertures.

2. Apparatus as described in claim 1 wherein said closure means when in the diverting position, diverts at least 20 percent of the air passing through said nozzle so as to pass through said apertures.

3. Apparatus as described in claim 1 wherein said closure means when in the diverting position diverts less than 35 percent of the air passing through said nozzle so as to pass through said apertures.

4. A blower nozzle as described in claim 1 wherein said closure means is capable of closing said apertures substantially completely.

5. A blower nozzle as described in claim 1 comprising stopping means for allowing incremental adjustment of said vane-type closure means to allow it to be at various intermediate positions between the open and the closed positions.

6. Apparatus as described in claim 1 wherein portions of said side wall in the region of said apertures are distorted so as to produce a forward flow of air greater than 20 and less than 45 to the axis of said nozzle. 

1. A blower nozzle adapted to fit on a hand dryer for hair, comprising a cylindrical portion connected to the outlet of said hand dryer, a nozzle portion connected to said cylindrical portion and having converging opposite side walls terminating in a restricted opening, a plurality of apertures in at least one of said converging side walls for permitting air from said dryer to pass out of said apertures at an angle to the axis of said nozzle, and adjustable vane-type closure means movable from a position where it covers said apertures to a position where it projects into the stream of air passing through the nozzle to direct said air stream through said apertures.
 2. Apparatus as described in claim 1 wherein said closure means when in the diverting position, diverts at least 20 percent of the air passing through said nozzle so as to pass through said apertures.
 3. Apparatus as described in claim 1 wherein said closure means when in the diverting position diverts less than 35 percent of the air passing through said nozzle so as to pass through said apertures.
 4. A blower nozzle as described in claim 1 wherein said closure means is capable of closing said apertures substantially completely.
 5. A blower nozzle as described in claim 1 comprising stopping means for allowing incremental adjustment of said vane-type closure means to allow it to be at various intermediate positions between the open and the closed positions.
 6. Apparatus as described in claim 1 wherein portions of said side wall in the region of said apertures are distorted so as to produce a forward flow of air greater than 20* and less than 45* to the axis of said nozzle. 